A Ride for All of Us



At the Ride 4 Matt mountain bikes and road bikes mingled in the shade while we enjoyed the event.



I am but a single moment away from being Matthew Wietrick. In just a split second, it could have been me swiped from the bike lane by a van and plunged into a nightmare of near-fatal injury and the long struggle for recovery. I know this, as do hundreds of my cyclist brethren, as we all gathered at Royer Park on Sunday. We feasted our eyes on Matt and his family and the wonder of the cycling community coming together to help a man just like each one of us get back on his feet after almost losing everything.

A sea of bikes gathers at the event testifying to the hundreds
of cyclists that showed to give their support to the Wietricks.

Matt was doing everything right as a cyclist early one morning in February: he had a bright vest on, he had lights, and he was riding in the bike lane when a van struck him and very nearly ended his life. In life we eventually learn that doing everything right does not always protect you from becoming the victim of malice, neglect or horrible accidents. Nor does it protect our loved ones.

As Matt lay in the hospital, his family struggled with the emotional aftermath of the accident and his inability to work which put their family under considerable financial strain. That was when hundreds of those who are but a second away from being Matthew Wietrick took him and his family under their wing and pledged to help. Fellow cyclists like Scott Taggart, Jeff Sanford, and Brian Acord –among dozens of others- worked for weeks to organize, fund-raise, contact sponsors and get the word out about Matt and his story. Together that community of people created -and pulled off with flying colors- the Ride 4 Matt event to help raise money to take some of the burden from the Wietricks while they try to regain their footing.

I can only imagine that these people thought what I thought when I first heard about Matt’s story: it could have so easily been me. I registered for the ride, donated one of our shirts for the raffle and showed up to show my support for a man whose heroic accomplishments (nine double centuries completed in 2010!) showed the heart of a lion and the soul of a true cyclist. Little did I realize that by doing something for a fellow cyclist that I would get such a great return on that bit of altruism.

Everyone lining up for good grub! Just looking at this picture makes me hungry for BBQ all over again.

At the event I was in awe of the number of people that came together to put on and participate in the ride.  While Matthew is known by fellow cyclists in the area, he isn’t what you might consider “famous”, he is a local cyclist just like the rest of us (maybe with a healthy dose more endurance then most of us…).  Yet there were hundreds of us gathered under the cool shade at Royer Park to ride, eat, and vie for cool raffle prizes. 

Carlos and I, first riders in.

The ride itself was one of the most enjoyable I think I have ever had: the weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful, the roads quiet and the company cheerful. A few teammates and I decided to do the ride at a training ride pace so we could get the ride done and have some time to socialize at the end.  So needless to say, the pace was grueling, but at least we had beautiful countryside to help ease the pain and we were able to claim the honor of being the first cyclist to complete the ride that morning. Kudos to Brian Acord for putting together such an awesome route!  (The only hiccup was one arrow that decided to play games with us by pointing in the wrong direction.  The damage was minimal as it was easy to figure out how to get back on track.)

BC teammate Todd wins big.

We grabbed some of the tasty BBQ lunch that was provided and perused the raffle and silent auctions items and I was struck by the enormity of the effort put forth to organize this event. Beyond all the generous sponsors many people had to put in long hours to pull of this ride by setting up the website, creating a registration and fee collection process, getting the word out on the internet and local bike clubs, setting up the route (someone has to drive each route and put markers on the road), maintaining the route during the day of the ride (markers are known to wander), collecting donations, and running a BBQ for hundreds of cyclist to name a few. Yet again, I am witness to our local cycling community coming together to support one of their own in a time of need.



Matt wipes tears of emotion away as he stands with  his
wife and daughter while Scott Taggart speaks to the crowd



As Scott Taggart (the driving force behind getting this benefit ride together) talked to the crowd and prepared to introduce Matthew and his family I couldn’t help to notice Matthew and his family standing offset from Scott.  Their body language oozed of such appreciation and gratefulness for all of the support.  At times they appeared overwhelmed by the support with Matthew occasionally wiping away tears with a tissue. We were all here for Matt but it wasn’t just a ride for Matt; it was a ride for all of us.

This isn't the end! You can visit the Ride4Matt website and make a donation!